Ralston Dodd was jailed after a stabbing attack but was sent home early because his prison term had been recorded incorrectly. The Ministry of Justice said then that it was an “extremely rare” error.

In its latest findings, the ministry said serious assaults on staff had trebled since 2013, reaching 805, while assaults in female prisons reached 1,023, the highest for at least nine years.

It reported 15 escapes from prisons or prisoner escorts and found that the performance of 10 jails was of “serious concern”.

Mr Lidington said that improving safety was his priority.

“I have seen first-hand the challenges our dedicated and hardworking prison staff face,” he said.

“Boosting the frontline is critical to achieving safety and the number of prison officers we are recruiting is rising, with the number of new prison officers joining the service at its highest level since 2010.”

The Government is seeking to add 2,500 frontline officers.

Campaigners and watchdogs have issued several warnings about the state of prisons.

Peter Clarke, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, warned this month that staffing levels in many establishments were too low to maintain order and said many inmates were kept in “squalid, dirty and disgraceful” conditions.